Understanding DB2: Learning Visually with Examples (2nd Edition)

Chapter 2. DB2 at a Glance: The Big Picture

This chapter is like a book within a book: it covers a vast range of topics that will provide you not only with a good introduction to DB2 core concepts and components, but also with an understanding of how these components work together and where they fit in the "DB2 puzzle." After reading this chapter you should have a general knowledge of the DB2 architecture that will help you better understand the topics discussed in the next chapters. Subsequent chapters will revisit and expand what has been discussed here.

In this chapter you will learn about:

• SQL statements and DB2 commands

• DB2 tools

• The DB2 environment

• Federation

• The database partitioning feature

You work with DB2 by issuing SQL statements and DB2 commands. To issue these statements and commands, you use DB2 tools. The DB2 tools interact with the DB2 environment by passing these statements and commands to the DB2 server for processing. This is shown in Figure 2.1.